Midnight Scrum: The Aftermath
by imagination-running
Summary: A father/son fic where Hiccup is coming to terms with a hard decision, and Stoick just hates seeing his son get hurt so often. One-shot, rated T to be safe. RTTE SEASON 4 SPOILERS!


Midnight Scrum: The Aftermath

A/N: This is set just after the bounty hunter episode of the new RTTE season. Spoilers abound.

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With a weary sigh, Stoick pushed the door to his hut open and entered the room. Hiccup and Toothless followed. Stoick noticed Hiccup's slight limp as he walked over to the water barrel that sat in the corner of the cooking area of the home.

"Would you like some water or mead or something, Dad?" Hiccup asked as he dipped out a mug full of water for himself from the barrel.

"Aye, son. Some mead, if you don't mind," Stoick answered as he placed logs in the fire pit. At a gesture, Toothless lit the fire and laid down beside it.

Hiccup busied himself for several more minutes filling a large bowl with water for the dragon and dropping a few fish next to it. Then, he brought Stoick his mead and placed a loaf of bread, some yak cheese, and a couple of apples on the table. It was meager, but with the village being broke, everyone was having to cut back these days. Besides, it was late, and both Haddock men were too tired to cook a full meal.

Stoick cut a large piece off the cheese block and tore the bread in two. He pulled his share towards him as Hiccup sat down on the bench beside him. For several minutes, the men and dragon ate in silence. It had been a long day, one filled with too many close calls for Stoick's part. The way that Toothless kept glancing over at his rider, eyes wide and concerned, the man knew that the beast felt the same way. They had nearly lost the slight young man who sat lost in his own thoughts, barely nibbling at a chunk of bread.

"You should eat, Hiccup," Stoick encouraged. "You haven't had anything since last night."

Hiccup blinked quickly and glanced at his father. "Yeah. Yeah, at the party." He took a real bite of the bread, but he grimaced and rubbed his throat as he swallowed the bite, immediately washing it down with a swig of his water.

Stoick narrowed his eyes. "Are you alright, son?"

Hiccup met his eyes, gave him small grin, and looked back down. "I'll be fine. I guess my throat got bruised in the scuffle today."

"Your throat got bruised?" Stoick only knew of one way a throat could get bruised. A bloodlust rose up in him that he hadn't felt in years. He wished that he had brought that axe down on Savage and every other bounty hunter and enemy they had run across earlier that day.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, that dark-skinned man, the one with the hood…He used a chain as a grappling hook during one of my escape attempts, and for the next while, it was basically my leash." In the low light of the fire, Stoick could see the angry red bruises that dotted his son's skin. He didn't know how he had missed it before, but somewhere between the heat of battle and the sweet relief of having his son back safe, he had indeed missed it. Suddenly, his cheese and apples weren't as appetizing.

"I ought to have killed him. I should have let my blade taste the blood of every single one," Stoick growled.

Hiccup looked up instantly and laid a hand on his father's arm. "No, Dad. I'm back here, safe. That's what matters. I'm…I'm glad you didn't…kill any of them."

Something in Hiccup's tone gave Stoick pause. Something else was bothering the boy. He could sense it in his gut. "Aye. You're safe, but what else is ailing you? I can hear it your voice."

Hiccup looked back down. "Nothing that a couple of easy days won't cure."

"Oh, and what needs curing?" Stoick raised his eyebrows. Hiccup wasn't going to talk his way out of this one.

His boy shrugged one shoulder. "My leg…It's pretty sore, what with the foot being yanked off and all. Not to mention all the stumbling and running while it was on."

Though, no doubt true and worthy of some concern, that wasn't what was on Hiccup's mind. "I see. And what else?" Stoick asked steadily.

Hiccup took a deep breath and grimaced when his lungs reached capacity. "Uh…That hit to the stomach from Ryker. He packs quite a punch. I could probably learn a few things from him, to be honest, if he wasn't a sworn enemy and all, that is."

Stoick had seen that punch. He had also seen Hiccup's eyes roll up into head and his body slump forward unconscious. A hit like that to Hiccup's small frame could have caused internal injury. He thanked Odin that that wasn't the case because even Gothi couldn't cure what she couldn't see. He had watched many a man die a slow, painful death from internal injuries, and the thought of it happening to his only child sent a shiver down his spine. Though, he knew Hiccup still hadn't disclosed what was bothering him most, he decided that he wanted to see that wound and the bruising around his neck before he pressed his son further for answers. "Come on, lad, get that riding gear and tunic off. I want to see the damage from today. I'll get you some ice while you get upstairs and get comfortable. Take that leg off, too. Let the stump rest for the night."

Hiccup looked at him, sighed, and smiled. "Alright, Dad. Come on, Toothless," he called to the dragon. "Time for bed, bud."

Toothless stretched his forelegs out and arched his back like a cat and yawned widely. Then, he straightened and shook before ambling behind his limping rider to the loft. Stoick, meanwhile, walked outside to the ice box on the north side of the house. He pulled out a block and took it back inside, wrapped it in a cloth, and trudged up the narrow staircase.

"Hiccup?" he called, rapping his knuckles on the door.

"Come in, Dad," came the muffled answer.

Stoick entered the room. Hiccup sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his dragon's face, scratching behind the ears and under the chin. For his part, Toothless cooed in bliss. Stoick smiled and shook his head at the pair's antics as he crossed the room. "Ack, now, dragon. Off with ye. I've got to tend to my son's wounds."

Toothless turned his head and glared at Stoick, but he did turn and walk back to his stone. He heated it with his fire and curled around on the surface, wrapping his tail around himself, and watched them through half-lidded eyes.

Stoick handed Hiccup the ice, who immediately pressed it to his abdomen. Then, Stoick lifted the candle from the side table and held it up to Hiccup's face. "Tilt your head back, son. I want to see your neck."

Hiccup tilted back his head. "It's fine, Dad. Nothing to worry about. In a day or two, it'll be like nothing happened."

"Maybe, but I still want to look." Stoick held the candle close with one hand and gently touched the ugly oval-shaped marks that ringed his son's neck. The ones in front looked the worst, unfortunately. However, Hiccup didn't seem to be too injured inside his throat, just some bruising, like he had said. He was still able to speak, swallow, and breath. There weren't any other striations or marks aside from the chain link shaped bruises on his skin, so Stoick decided that Hiccup would be fine. "Alright, you'll live, in my estimation. Now, let's see the rest of you."

"Dad…" Hiccup whined.

Stoick held up his hand. "Do not use that tone, Hiccup. You're eighteen, not four. Now, turn, I want to see your back."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and grumbled but turned around. "Nothing to worry about back there, either, I promise."

Hiccup was right, again, of course. He had a lot of bruises from being tossed around on those rocks, but there were no cuts or scrapes. His leather riding vest did at least protect against that, Stoick noted gratefully. Stoick sat the candle back on the end table and picked up a jar filled with an herbal ointment that Hiccup kept with him for the aches and bruises that occurred on a regular basis on his stump. Stoick opened the jar, and his nose was accosted by the pungent odor of the ointment. The stuff worked like a charm. Unfortunately, it smelled like the wrong end of a boar. He secretly thought that was because lard was a main ingredient in the cream.

"I sometimes marvel that a scrawny one-legged man like you can get into so many scrapes," Stoick mumbled as he spread the ointment on the worst of the bruises. He dipped his fingers back into the jar and doctored Hiccup's neck, too.

Hiccup sighed and relaxed as the herbs in the cream eased the aches that littered his body. "An unfortunate combination of all your attitude and none of your size," he answered.

"You can't blame me for all of it. Your mother knew how to find trouble, too, and I know that all those years under Gobber's watch did nothing to curb your natural tendencies. Now lay back. Let's see the stomach," Stoick ordered as he pushed Hiccup's shoulder towards the bed slats.

Hiccup did as bid, and Stoick moved to look at his son's midsection. A dark bruise spread across his abdomen just under his rib cage. The center of the bruise was such a dark purple, it was nearly black. The color faded as it radiated outwards, turning blue, then green, then a sickly yellow that reached nearly to Hiccup's sides. The veins appeared to glow red leading into the bruise.

"Dear Odin…" Stoick breathed.

"That bad, huh?" was Hiccup's flat response.

"Bad is an understatement, son. I ought to get Gothi to check you over," Stoick answered as he spread the ointment over Hiccup's stomach. He could see the muscles in the boy's torso flinch with even the gentlest of touches, but Hiccup never complained of the pain.

"No, please don't do that. She'll just give me some elixir to drink that tastes as foul as that cream smells. Let's just give it till morning. If you still think she needs to look at it, I'll go without complaint."

Stoick chuckled. "That'll be the day. You were still complaining six months after your leg was taken when she showed up to check on how it was healing."

"Yeah, well she had a weird habit of checking in my ears and down my throat to assess how my amputation was faring before proceeding to poke and prod the most sensitive parts of the stump. I would hurt more after she left than before she showed up." Hiccup rubbed his eyes, then turned his head to gaze out of the window.

Stoick laughed, again, as he moved from Hiccup's mid-section to his left leg. "Aye, she has her quirks, but she is the best. Gobber used to complain about her ways, too, when he lost his limbs."

Hiccup huffed a laugh. "Gobber still complains about her every chance he gets."

"That is the true," Stoick agreed.

The pair fell silent for the next few moments. Stoick concentrated on rubbing the ointment into Hiccup's stump, which was sporting its own bruises and rope burns.

"How did you handle it, Dad?" asked Hiccup. He sounded like his thoughts were far away. His voice was low and quiet.

Stoick stopped his ministrations and looked up at his son. "Handle finding you missing this morning?" he asked only for clarification.

"No…Handle killing a man for the first time."

Silence reigned. So this was it. Hiccup had taken a life in an effort to save his own. Stoick knew that others had died as a result of Hiccup's actions, but those deaths had been caused by dragon fire or drowning. Hiccup had never looked a man in the eye before and ended his life with his own hands. Hiccup was a thinker, not a warrior. He looked for ways to end problems without bloodshed.

Stoick moved the stool back towards the head of the bed. "Taking another's life is no small thing, Hiccup. Only a man with no respect for life takes it willingly without remorse. The fact that it bothers you means you only did what was absolutely necessary. I won't say you'll ever feel good about your decision, but I will say that you shouldn't let it eat away at you. Be at peace with yourself, Hiccup. In battle, death cannot be avoided. You were only defending yourself."

Hiccup sniffed and scrubbed his eyes. Then, he propped himself up on his elbows, hung his head, and laughed. "You know what's really stupid about all this? I didn't even kill him. I just thought I did, but not only did I fail at that, he shows back up at just the right moment and stops Ryker from throwing a knife into my back. The man whose life I chose not to save, lived despite me and saved my life. It's pathetic and messed up, and somehow, I still managed to come out as the worst one in the bunch."

Stoick pulled his son into a hug. "Ah, son, you're not thinking of it right. Think back. What happened exactly?"

Hiccup sniffed, again, and pulled his hand across his face. He refused to look up at his father. "It was the hooded man. He and I rolled off the side of the cliff in a scuffle. I grabbed a ledge, but all he could get was my fake leg. He pleaded with me to pull him up, but instead, I…I loosened the ropes of my leg and knocked it off with him still hanging onto it. I just knew he had been killed falling into the rocks below. That's when Ryker pulled me up, and you all showed up a minute later. I may not have actually killed him, but in that moment, on the side of that cliff, I made a decision that by all rights should have ended his life, and I knew it would. Discounting whatever miracle the gods granted him, that fall was a death sentence."

"I see. Hiccup, look at me." Hiccup reluctantly tilted his head to meet his father's eyes. "Was that man trying to kill you?"

"I…I don't know for sure. He wasn't going to just let me go when Ryker refused to pay the bounty, but I don't know if he was going to kill me."

"But you knew he wasn't going to see you safely home. At best, he would hold you hostage and hand you over to the highest bidder. You did say you saw him at the dragon auction, did you not?"

"Yeah, I saw him there, but-″

"No buts, son," Stoick interrupted. "That man is a bounty hunter, and bounty hunters are only ever out for their own gain. He wouldn't have hesitated to put you up for sale. He had gone out of his way to capture you. He wasn't losing out on that much money. He also wouldn't have cared what shape you were in when he put you in an auction, just so long as he could make his effort worth it."

"He would still need me alive for that, though, Dad, and I decided to kill him anyway," Hiccup persisted.

"Hiccup, by your own admission, he is the reason you were dangling on the side of a cliff. He was grabbing onto the one part of your body that is only temporarily attached and was pulling you both down. He was endangering your life before you fell and after. It was a battle, and your life was at stake. You did no wrong, son."

"Then why do I feel so wrong?" Hiccup sounded so despondent. Stoick wished his child hadn't had to make such a heavy decision, but he had. It would eat him alive if Stoick didn't walk him through it.

"Feeling that way is proof that you are a good person. You are a man of character, and you respect the lives of others. I would be worried if you didn't feel wrong about your decision," he assured his son.

Hiccup gave him a guarded look. "You're sure?" Hope laced his words.

Stoick clapped him on the shoulders. "Yes, son, I'm sure. Besides, you said yourself that the gods spared the man. Take solace in that, but next time – and there will be a next time – know that you're not a monster for defending yourself, your loved ones, and your home. You are a good man, a leader, making the hardest decision of his life for the sake of those whom he is charged to protect."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Aye, son. Now you get some rest. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." Stoick rose from the stool and walked across the room.

"Night, Dad," came Hiccup's muffled voice. He was already drifting to sleep.

"Good night, Hiccup," Stoick answered. He closed the door behind him and went to his room for his own respite from the day.

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Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD. Though, I am glad that those who do were willing to share the stories.

A/N: This felt like a big moment to me in that episode. I'm sure Hiccup had to come to terms with the inevitable deaths caused by the dragons and the riders in past battles against Alvin, Dagur, and the hunters, but his choice to untie that leg instead of pull up the bounty hunter seemed to be the first time he had been that personal in the death of an adversary. I know he did once attack Alvin, but this was something he was certain would kill the man and anger wasn't clouding his judgement. I just felt he would need to work through it. Not to mention, this episode gave me a chance to write hurt Hiccup because there is no way he walked away from all of that without an injury. And who can resist a good father/son scene?

Anyway, I hope you liked it, and thanks for reading.


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